Senior Manager, IRA
Polycomp Administrative Services, Inc.
in CA

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ATPA
in OR

Director, Labor Management Project
1199SEIU Family of Funds
in NY

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Review of Correction Options for Late Deposits of 401(k) Withholding
September 30, 2014 WEBCAST
(ASPPA [American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries])

Tax Advantages of Cash Balance Plans
September 30, 2014 in IL
(ASPPA Benefits Council [ABC] of Chicago)

Auto Enrollment: No Employee Left Behind
October 8, 2014 in TX
(ASPPA Benefits Council [ABC] of Texas Gulf Coast)

ACA Best Practices: Driving Consumerism in Today's World
October 14, 2014 WEBCAST
(ADP)

Longevity Annuities
December 3, 2014 WEBCAST
(Conference of Consulting Actuaries)

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International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans [IFEBP]

[Official Guidance]

Text of IRS Q&As on Reporting of Offers of Health Insurance Coverage by Employers (Section 6056)
25 questions and answers. Topics: [1] Basics of Employer Reporting (Questions 1-4); [2] Who is Required to Report (Questions 5-8); [3] Methods of Reporting (Questions 9-13); [4] What Information Must ALE Members Report (Questions 14-16); and [5] How and When to Report the Required Information (Questions 17-25). Updated September 22, 2014. (Internal Revenue Service [IRS])  

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[Official Guidance]

Text of IRS Q&As on Information Reporting by Health Coverage Providers (Section 6055)
29 questions and answers. Topics: [1] Basics of Provider Reporting (Questions 1-4); [2] Who is Required to Report (Questions 5-15); [3] What Information Must Providers Report (Questions 16-19); and [4] How and When to Report the Required Information (Questions 20-29). Updated online September 22, 2014. (Internal Revenue Service [IRS])  

[Guidance Overview]

IRS to Amend Cafeteria Plan Regulations to Facilitate Enrollment in Marketplace Coverage
"[If] an employer chooses to use these change in status rule exceptions, the employer ought to consider other administrative issues and communication issues that can arise -- employees need to be apprised of these new options and the options need to be administered consistently with other plan provisions, including any applicable COBRA provisions. As employers enter into open enrollment season, those employers wishing to permit these changes should consider including a discussion of the new options in enrollment materials." (Proskauer's ERISA Practice Center)  

Text of Seventh Circuit Opinion Upholding Award of $325,000 in Attorney Fees on $50,000 FMLA Claim (PDF)
"Defendants' sole argument is that an award of almost $325,000 is not reasonable in relation to Cuff's recovery, which is less than $50,000. The ratio certainly seems high. Rational people do not set out to invest $325,000 in order to obtain $50,000. But then Cuff's lawyers surely did not expect at the outset of this case to invest that much legal time in its pursuit." [Cuff v. Trans State Holdings, Inc., No. 13-1241 (7th Cir. Sept. 19, 2014)] (U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit)  

Nearly Half of U.S. Employers Expect to Hit 'Cadillac' Tax in 2018 with 82% Triggering the Tax by 2023
"The excise tax is based on both employer and employee premium contributions, not just what the employer pays for coverage. The definition of what's included for calculating the tax extends to tax-advantaged health care accounts such as health flexible spending accounts, health reimbursement accounts and pretax contributions to a health savings account.... Ultimately, the tax is determined by the aggregate value of the programs an employee elects, not just the medical plan value itself. Annual increases in the excise tax thresholds are not based on health care cost inflation, but instead on the Consumer Price Index, which was 1.5% for 2013 -- far less than medical cost trend and considerably less than the 4% annual health care cost increase that the better performing employer health plans are expected to achieve in 2015 after plan changes." (Towers Watson)  

[Advert.]

ACI's 8th National Forum on ERISA Litigation

ACI has developed its 8th installment of its acclaimed ERISA Litigation conference. This is the highest-level ERISA event that goes the extra mile and brings you advanced judicial insights and maximum networking opportunities with in-house industry experts.

One Year In: Americans Respond to the Affordable Care Act
49 slides. "Nearly half (46 percent) of uninsured Americans are uninformed about the individual mandate provision of the ACA and 43 percent have not heard of the state exchanges where they can apply for assistance.... Among the uninsured, less than half (42 percent) could afford health insurance premiums of just $100 per month, and affordability of health insurance varies widely amongst Americans.... In general, continuously insured (insured pre-mandate and currently insured) Americans noticed few changes in their health care options .... For those continuously insured (insured pre-mandate and currently insured), an increase in costs was the most commonly experienced change as a result of the ACA." (Transamerica Center for Health Studies)  

Covered California Announces Expanded Small-Business Options for 2015
"Covered California will offer the same six health plans next year in its Small Business Health Options Programs [SHOP] ... but add flexibility for employers, greater choice for employees and the option of buying adult dental coverage.... Starting Oct. 1, employers can offer workers a choice of plans in two benefit levels. Currently, business owners can offer only one benefit level, although workers can choose from a variety of plans at that level." (The Business Journals)  

Summary Report of HHS Inspector General: Health Insurance Marketplaces Generally Protected Personally Identifiable Information But Could Improve Certain Information Security Controls (PDF)
"Although [CMS] had implemented controls to secure Healthcare.gov and consumer personally identifiable information (PII) on the Federal Marketplace, [we (the Office of Inspector General)] identified areas for improvement in its information security controls.... This summary does not include specific details of the vulnerabilities that we identified because of the sensitive nature of the information. We have provided more detailed information and recommendations to officials of the three Marketplaces so the issues we identified could be appropriately addressed." (Office of Inspector General [OIG], U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [HHS])  

ACA Implementation: Six-State Case Study on Network Adequacy
"Researchers assessed network changes and efforts at regulatory oversight in six states: Colorado, Maryland, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Virginia. Researchers found that insurers made significant changes to the provider networks of their individual market plans, both inside and outside the marketplaces, and that insurers took varying approaches to network design. Across all six states, insurers and state officials alike reported consumer and provider confusion about which plan networks included which providers, but most have received few consumer complaints about their ability to obtain in-network services[.]" (Urban Institute)  

Text of GAO Report: CMS Procedures for Reporting Certain Financial Management Information Should Be Improved
"CMS did not provide estimates of fiscal year 2014 obligations for certain categories of CCIIO-related transactions, such as advertising and other public relations activities. In addition, CMS provided data on CCIIO's staffing levels as of September 30, 2013, but did not provide complete staffing reassignment data.... GAO recommends that CMS identify and evaluate options to facilitate reporting CCIIO-related financial management information that is independently verifiable in a timely manner, and develop and implement policies and procedures to document the preparation, review, and approval of information produced for nonroutine requests. HHS did not concur with GAO's recommendations." [GAO-14-697, released online Sept. 22, 2014.] (U.S. Government Accountability Office [GAO])  

Navigating Company Stock Regs with 10b5-1 Executive Trading Plans: Best Practices (PDF)
"Competitive equity compensation is essential for companies looking to attract, reward and retain top executives. To ensure executives' interests are aligned with the shareholders', packages frequently include complex performance awards. Maximizing the value of those equity awards plays a critical role in executives' ability to build wealth and achieve their financial goals. But managing equity programs can be complicated for employers and executives ... [M]ore than 70% of companies cited compliance factors as the biggest challenge in offering equity awards." (Bank of America Merrill Lynch)  

The Effect of Employer Bankruptcy on Retiree Benefits, with Applications to the Automotive and Coal Industries (PDF)
"Benefits for retired employees are of particular interest to policy makers because of the growing number of retirees and forecasts indicating that some future retirees may not have the necessary financial resources to maintain their standards of living. Part of this congressional concern is what happens when bankrupt employers are unable to provide promised pension and health benefits to their retired employees.... After a discussion of these issues, this report provides three examples of bankruptcy proceedings where the retirees' pensions and health insurance benefits received substantial federal attention: the General Motors Corporation, the Delphi Corporation, and the Patriot Coal Corporation." (Congressional Research Service [CRS])  

CEOs Get Paid Too Much, According to Pretty Much Everyone in the World
"For the countries combined, the ideal pay ratio for CEOs to unskilled workers was 4.6 to 1; the estimated ratio was about double, at 10 to 1. But there were some differences country to country. People in Denmark, for example, estimated the ratio to be 3.7 to 1, with an ideal ratio being 2 to 1. In South Korea, the estimated gap was much larger at 41.7 to 1. The ideal gap in Taiwan was particularly high, at 20 to 1." (Harvard Business Review Blog Network)  

[Opinion]

A 2020 Vision: Flexibility and the Future of Employee Benefits (PDF)
26 pages. "In the future, personal health and financial well-being will embrace a broader view of income protection that includes not only health coverage and retirement savings, but also incorporates life insurance, disability and long-term care coverage in a much more integrated way.... It is critically important for policymakers to acknowledge that enlightened, bipartisan tax policy has been indispensable to the success of the employer-sponsored benefits system." (American Benefits Council)  

NAGDCA to Celebrate 9th Annual National Save for Retirement Week, October 19-25, 2014
National Association of Government Defined Contribution Administrators

Benefitfocus Appoints Lanham Napier to Its Board of Directors
Benefitfocus

BNY Mellon and Redington Launch Enhanced LDI Reporting Service for Pension Fund Clients
BNY Mellon

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